AP says Republicans have been secretive about selecting a new leader. They meet on Tuesday to vote on the leadership position.

GOP House Speaker Kurt Zellers is scheduled to speak at the U of M’s Humphrey School on Jan. 19.

The city of Duluth and the Fond du Lac Band of Ojibwe are still at odds over a ruling on a casino payment.

The Pi Press and the Star Tribune have profiles of Michael Brodkorb, the former communications director to the Senate Republican Caucus.

MinnPost takes a look at the difficulty in reporting on the Koch scandal.

Wedding Bells

Gov. Dayton told MPR News that his son, Eric, is getting married next week to Cornelia Oehler in San Francisco. Dayton will be out of the state for most of the week.

Congress

House GOP leaders caved on their insistence that the payroll tax cut be extended by a year. House GOP leadership agreed that they would pass a temporary tax cut that was approved by the U.S. Senate last week.

GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann, who hasn’t made many votes in the past five months, called the temporary payroll tax cut a “gimmick.”

MPR has statements from the other members of Minnesota’s delegation here.

About the blogger

Tom Scheck has covered politics and state government for more than ten years for MPR News. He’s covered several gubernatorial campaigns, two statewide recounts, the presidential bids of Tim Pawlenty and Michele Bachmann, U.S. Senate races, close Congressional contests and the Minnesota Legislature. He lives in Falcon Heights with his wife, son and dog. He can sometimes be found chasing a white ball on a golf course. It isn’t a straight walk. Tips are welcome at tscheck@mpr.org